From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia

Venetian blind detail, showing how slats are connected.

A window or door blind is a covering for a window or door, usually attached to the interior side of a window. It simply refers to some device to hide from sight (thus ""blinding"" the viewer) or to reduce sunlight (and therefore heat, i.e. during the summer). There are several kinds of blinds, including:

Slat blinds, which consist of many horizontal, flat slats, usually of metal or vinyl, connected with string in a way that they can be rotated to allow light to pass between the slats, rotated up to about 170 degrees to hide the light, or pulled up so that the entire window is clear (so special version pulling up diagonally or even down — mostly motorised or with hand winder). The blinds can be tilted by rotating a small knob that is attached to the strings, twisting a long wand or by pulling a cord; the raising and lowering of the blinds is achieved by pulling a different string. However, there also exists version with a winding mechanisms that combine both functions into one winding rod and can mostly also be used for motorisation.

Such blinds include:

Venetian blinds, basic slatted blind made of metal or plastic; wooden slats are sometimes used but these are usually referred to as wood blinds or bamboo blinds. Venetian blinds were introduced around 1770, possibly in Venice, Italy. Slat width can be between 50-120 mm, however most common are 50 mm).
Miniblinds, Venetian blinds with very narrow slats (usually 19 or 24 mm wide).
Vertical blinds, or track blinds, consisting of slats of stiffened fabric, plastic, or metal hanging by one end from a track; like the horizontal versions, the slats can be rotated 90 degrees to allow light to pass through or to fold up on one side of a door or window.

* Solid blinds, which either roll up or fold up but cannot be opened in place to allow light through. These are also often referred to as window shades[citation needed].

Such blinds include:

Holland blinds, or roller shades, which are pull-down rolling window blinds.
Woven-wood blinds, which are slats of decorative wood, bamboo, or other natural material woven together with simple string, colored yarn, or other decorative material to make a nearly solid blind; these either roll up out of the way or fold up out of the way. Wood blinds are known for their energy efficiency, and greater light control, as well as being economical alternatives to shutters.
Pleated shades, which are pleated fabric shades that pull up to sit flat at the top of a window.
Honeycomb shades, or cellular shades, which are similar to pleated shades except that there are two or more layers joined at the pleats to form compartments that trap air, providing insulation. Due to their cellular construction, cellular shades are known to be energy conscious. For greater insulation, cellular shades also come in double and triple cell styles. The more cells, the greater energy efficiency.

Roman shades, made of fabric or woven wood, that pull up by having each section of the shade fold behind a higher section. Roman shades are thought of as being easy to operate, and for extremely efficient in insulation.

All of the above can also be motorised and, because of this, domotized.

Some motorised door blinds are transpassables (one can cross them). Motorized shades can be controlled from a wall switch or keypad, remote control, or a personal computer. This eliminates the hazard of dangling cords.